


Homeland

by WaxRhapsodic



Category: Number the Stars: Lois Lowery, X-Men (Movies), X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Childhood Friends, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Growing Up Together, Happy Ending, Holocaust, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Reunions, Slow Build, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-14
Updated: 2015-09-14
Packaged: 2018-04-20 19:53:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4800212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaxRhapsodic/pseuds/WaxRhapsodic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loosely based on Number the Stars, a novel by Lois Lowery. </p><p>They clung to each other until the last moment. </p><p>Then Charles was gazing out the back window of a huge black car, the clear blue of his eyes fading into the distance as Erik stood on the dock, watching until he couldn’t sense the car anymore and the soft presence of Charles in his mind was entirely gone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Homeland

**Author's Note:**

> This is a not for profit fan work I do not own any of the characters or properties mentioned herein.  
> ~ ~ around text indicates that it is spoken telepathically and not aloud.

Denmark 1943

“Race you home!” Charles called over his shoulder as he took off running.

“No fair, you have a head start!” Erik griped before taking off after his best friend who was already a few steps ahead before quickly over taking him in his mad dash. 

Erik was the tallest kid in their grade and won every footrace. Charles was a bit of a runt and showed every sign of taking after his diminutive father. This fact never held Charles back when it came to racing or anything really. 

Charles was a born optimist and thought every goal could be reached with enough effort. Erik wasn’t so naïve, but he also wasn’t in the habit of crushing other people’s dreams. 

Except when it came to foot races, those dreams he destroyed. 

Just as he rounded the final corner leading home, a strong hand grasped his arm and stopped his progress, pressing him against the cold bricks of a housing complex.

“What are you up to boy?” Growled a German soldier in broken Danish glaring down at Erik and causing his heart to stutter in his chest. 

“Nothing sir, we were just racing home.” Charles answered, having just rounded the corner and immediately assessed the situation.

“School out for the day then?” He frowned, trying to catch them playing hooky or nicking sweets from the corner store. 

“Yes sir, every day at three.” 

Erik stood still and silent, glaring defiantly at the soldier, daring him to find some reason to detain them further.

The German checked his watch then looked at them with another frown. “Next time try walking you look like a couple of hoodlums out for trouble. Don’t catch my attention again.” He finally released Erik’s arm and went back to his post on the opposite corner where his partner was waiting. 

Raven dashed up gasping for breath. “You guys always leave me! Mom says we’re supposed to walk home together!” she pouted, oblivious to the tension framing both boys as they shared a look and moved to finish their trip home.

“I’m sorry Raven, it won’t happen again.” Charles said with a smile, taking his younger sisters hand. The young girl smiled back at him happily, not understanding just why the boys wouldn’t be racing anymore.

As they approached the mansion where the Xavier’s lived and the Lensherr’s worked, Charles watched Erik closely, noting the tension in his jaw and his stiff gait.

“I was scared, you know.” He said softly so as not to attract Raven’s attention as she tried to remember the words to the song her class would be performing in the school pageant.

“I know, me too.” Erik replied just as softly. They shared another look and a brief smile before Erik adopted a serious expression. “I don’t think we should mention this at home, our moms will just worry.” “Yeah, let’s just forget it.” Charles agreed happy to avoid the lecture they were sure to get if their parents found out they had been stopped by a soldier.

They entered the door to the kitchen where Erik’s mother greeted them with smiles and their after school snack. 

Charles’ mother joined them shortly thereafter, and unfortunately just in time for Raven to suddenly remember to ask about the strange man they were talking to on the street? The one in the uniform?

Erik rolled his eyes and slumped back in his seat as he heard the dull thud of Charles dropping his head onto the table.

“Boys?” Asked Mrs. Lensherr as she and Mrs. Xavier turned identical glares on their offspring.

They quickly recounted the story only to see the tension and strain build on the women’s faces until they were done.

“He was right boys," Mrs. Xavier said with a frown. “No more running and you should take a different route to and from school now.”

“But mom!” Charles began.

“Your mother is right, Charles,” Mrs. Lensherr cut in. “If this happens again, I’ll have Jakob pick you up and drop you off each day.”

That shut them up immediately, it would be humiliating to be escorted by a parent at their age, as though they couldn’t be trusted to make it to and from school on their own.

“Now for homework.” Announced Mrs. Xavier, a frown still on her face. “I have some phone calls to make.” She absently kissed Raven and ran her fingers through Charles hair before gracing Erik with a brief smile, knowing he was uncomfortable with affectionate displays from anyone other than his own mother. 

She glanced at Mrs. Lensherr once more before leaving the room and heading to her study. 

“Go on boys, get your school work out; let me know if you need help.” Mrs. Lensherr tried to smile, but her expression was off as she moved to get started on dinner.

They worked quickly, wanting to finish as early as possible in order to have time to play before dinner. 

Raven stayed in the kitchen to help with dinner, at least as much as a five year old could, while Charles and Erik ran up the steps to the playroom.

“Germans ruin everything!” Erik burst out the moment they were alone.

“Erik, you’re German!” Charles rebuked with a grin.

“Oh, you know what I mean.” He grimaced, refusing to be teased into a lighter mood. “We came here to get away from them and now look! We can’t even race home anymore!”

“Calm down Erik, we’re safe here, that’s why my father accepted this post, remember?”

“I know Charles, but…” his hesitation caught Charles’ attention. The boys had no secrets from one another, had never felt there was anything they could not divulge. 

Even when Charles had begun to hear voices in his head as clearly as any that were spoken aloud, he had told Erik without fear of rejection, though he had yet to mention it to his parents. They had enough on their plates.

Charles held himself back from delving into Erik’s thoughts and taking information directly. He was nearly as familiar with Erik’s mind as he was his own. 

They practiced his control daily to keep other’s voices out, to take thoughts from people and have silent conversations with one another. But now was not the time for practice. The only secrets that mattered were the ones willingly shared.

“My father says the Nazi’s will never be satisfied, not until we are dead. He says the Germans elected that madman and now the world is paying the price.” Erik finally said. “We haven’t heard from anyone in months. No family, no friends. Not one word. My mother cries when she thinks I’m sleeping.” He finished quietly.

Charles gaped at the news. He had felt the turmoil building in Erik’s parents for months, but had respected their privacy even if he could not block his awareness of their emotional state. 

“Erik,” he moved to embrace his friend. “I’ll see what my father knows.”

“You know he won’t tell you anything!” Erik pulled away frustrated.

“I’m hardly going to ask, Erik.” Charles gestured to his temple while rolling his eyes. 

“You’d do that?” Erik asked, surprised. Charles had always been adamant about his father’s privacy above all things; they knew his work was sensitive in regards to the war.

“I will for you,” he replied with a smile Just as Mrs. Lensherr called for them to wash up for dinner.

~~

Dinner that night was a solemn affair as Erik tried to entertain Raven so that Charles could delve into the minds of their parents.

Fortunately the adults were deep in conversation about war rations and did not notice how quiet Charles was as he ate as methodically as a windup toy. 

~It’s bad, worse than we thought. Your family needs to flee to Switzerland as soon as possible.~

~Just my family? What about yours?~

~My father thinks he can get us back to America on the pretense of a family death, we just won’t come back.~

Erik felt the dinner he had eaten turn to lead in his stomach. He and Charles had been together since he was six and Charles was five when his parents were employed by the Xavier’s as domestic workers. The thought of being separated from him was nearly as upsetting as being separated from his own parents. 

~Eat, they’ve noticed something is wrong!~ Charles sent him frantically as he gently turned their parent’s attention away from the odd behavior of their children.

Erik turned back to Raven and forced down a few more bites of food as Charles rapidly cleared his own plate, reconnaissance complete. 

~~~

That night Charles fell into a troubled sleep, it was harder to maintain his shields when he was sleeping, and especially when he was sharing his space with so many troubled minds. 

Raven was the only one resting comfortably tonight and he envied her obliviousness to their current situation.

He had only been sleeping for a few hours when a strong shift in the household woke him with a start.

~Erik!~

~Charles? My parents are leaving!~

~Right now? Are you going too? He hopped out of bed and had his hand on the doorknob before Erik had a chance to answer~

~ No, I’m to meet up with them later. They just said goodbye~ Charles could feel the anguish Erik shared with him through their connection. 

That was the shift he had felt, Erik’s sorrow and Jakob and Edie leaving the house.

~Come to my room, you can stay the rest of the night with me.~

He felt Erik’s relief and agreement and opened the door to let his friend in.

They crawled into bed together and huddled under the sheets.

“I’m sorry I didn’t see when they were leaving, I didn’t think it would be this soon.” Charles apologized, remembering the plans he saw in the adults minds that they would need to enact their plan within the next few weeks, not hours!

“I don’t think it was supposed to but your dad came to our quarters not an hour ago and they were whispering then packing. Then they came to tell me to mind your parents and they’d see me soon.” Erik whispered back, showing Charles his recent memories as he spoke.

The boys lay in silence for a while, thinking about the departure of Edie and Jakob into the unknown.

Charles felt the fear and anger welling inside his friend and grasped his hand tightly beneath the sheets. Erik squeezed back and they lay in silence, neither boy able to fall back asleep for the rest of the night.

~~~

The days passed slowly and the level of tension only rose in the house as Charles’ father spent long hours away from the house or enclosed in his study with foreign visitors.

Their walks to and from school were now bleak and frightening as they noticed the closure of several shops along the way. All owned by Jewish families, some of whom were no longer in residence.

Charles’ mother had become very protective; making sure Erik’s shirt was buttoned to the top each day before he left the house. She said it was to make sure his uniform was worn properly, but Charles saw in her mind the fear that the wrong person would see his Star of David necklace and he would disappear.

She desperately wanted to take the necklace and melt it down, but held herself back because she knew how much it meant to Erik and the Lensherr’s.

Erik continued to sleep with Charles each night, even moving a few personal belongings and his school uniforms into the bedroom, he hated going into the servants quarters he’d shared with his parents, it felt wrong to be there without them.

Charles said nothing about the change, simply making room for his belongings and holding his hand each night until they fell asleep.

One week after then Lensherr’s departure, Charles bolted awake in the middle of the night, projecting a spike of panic that instantly woke the other members of the household.

“What is it Charles?” Erik grasped the smaller boys arm tightly.

“Soldiers are-“ there came a sudden pounding at the front door.

The boys gazed at each other in terror just as Charles jolted again. “Raven, I have to…” bringing two fingers to his right temple, he focused on sending her back into a peaceful sleep, sighing once it was done. 

The pounding came again just as Charles felt his father reach the front door, his mother standing behind him on the staircase.

They huddled together quietly, listening together through Charles’ telepathy as his parents told a clearly rehearsed story about the Lensherr’s giving notice and how they were at home alone with their children.

Erik tensed as one of the guards demanded permission to search the house.

“Can you make them not see me?” he whispered frantically.

“My mother already said there were three of us!” Charles retorted, equally panicked as they heard footsteps on the stairs.

~Erik, your necklace!~

The loose neckline of his pajamas revealed the gold Star of David lying against his breastbone and damning them all.

His hands flew to clasp, but it was rusted shut, he had never taken it off since his parents had given it to him years before.

~I can’t get it off! It’s stuck!~ He tugged futilely at the thick gold chain, too small to pull over his head. 

~They’re looking in on Raven! Our room is next!~ Charles pushed the thought into his mind and grasped the heavy gold star in his fist, clearly prepared to rip it off as a last resort. 

But the moment he touched the gold, Erik felt it, not through his skin, but through the metal. He felt his own pulse, felt the metallic makeup of the chain and the far purer gold of the star. He felt the warmth of Charles’ hand and the frantic rush of the smaller boy’s blood beneath the skin as it pounded against the alloy.

Just as Charles started to tug, the clasp came loose in Erik’s hand, and Charles quickly balled the necklace into his palm, chain and all and hid his hands beneath the sheet just as the soldiers pushed into the room. 

Erik froze as the soldiers walked in and looked past them sitting in bed and focused on the pillows.

“Your children are sound sleepers,” one of the soldiers remarked snidely. “Or maybe they’re used to men coming and going at all hours.”

Sharon flushed angrily as Brian’s lips thinned into an almost invisible line of disapproval. 

Two other soldiers joined the men escorting the Xavier’s through their own home. “It’s as they say sir, the rest of the house is empty and the servants’ quarters were hastily packed and abandoned.” One of the men saluted the captain who had insulted Charles’ mother.

The man frowned in frustration and turned to Brian with a sneer. “If you hear from them or have word of where they are, you will notify us immediately.” He snapped, turning and leading his men from the house in a huff, slamming the front door behind them as Sharon rushed to lock it. 

Brian gently closed the boys’ door and moved down the hall after his wife.

“What did you do, Charles?”

“You gave me the idea to make them not see you; I made them see us sleeping.” Charles sighed, exhausted from the panicked extension of his powers. “It worked. What did you do?”

“What do you mean?” Erik asked, genuinely confused.

“The necklace, you unlatched it without your hands,” Charles explained patiently.

In the heat of the moment, Erik had put that from his mind. “I-felt it, the metal, it spoke to me.” He murmured, gazing down at his own hands in wonder. “It felt like a part of me that I didn’t know was missing.”

Charles threw his arms around Erik with muffled sob.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Erik asked, alarmed even as he automatically pulled the younger boy into an embrace.

“I thought I was alone.” He whispered. “I thought I was the only one.”

“Oh, my friend, you are not alone.” Erik murmured softly. “We are brothers you and I. We are the same.”

~~

The next week passed with a forced calm as Mrs. Xavier reminded them each day to act as naturally as possible. She told them that if soldiers ever came to the school they were to leave at once and immediately return home.

It was frightening to see the slow changes that crept over the city. More people went missing each day, and rations grew tighter even as Charles’ father was rarely ever home.

Even Raven was aware of the tension, and was growing despondent missing Mrs. Lensherr who was naturally more nurturing than their own mother.

Then came the day that the boys woke to a soft knock on their bedroom door, the sun was high in the sky, they should have been up hours ago.

The knock came again, it was Raven and she was scared.

“Erik, unlock the door,” Charles murmured, holding out his arms for Raven to run to as he knelt on the bed.

She snuggled between the boys, clutching the stuffed rabbit that their father had bought her on a trip to Paris.

“Why can’t we go to school today?” She whimpered. “Mommy says we need to stay inside and be quiet. I don’t like it, I’m scared and I miss Anna!”

Anna was her best friend and had suddenly stopped coming to school a few days before. Her family house was empty when they stopped by after school.

The boys shared a look over her head then spent the day keeping her fed and entertained as Charles repeatedly focused on reading his parents minds.

“My mother has started packing.” He informed Erik in the early afternoon.

“Are we leaving soon?”

“Tonight or tomorrow, my father is worried we have already left it too late.” Charles murmured with a frown.

The house had been searched twice more by soldiers at random hours of the day and the strain was wearing everyone thin.

Charles kept Erik’s necklace on him at all times. He had tried to give it back, but the older boy said he liked knowing where Charles was at all times, it soothed him. He could sense the familiar pattern of the gold from several rooms away.

The discovery of Erik’s powers were a welcome relief from the tension of the war as he practiced lifting, throwing, and catching all manner of metal objects as they played. His abilities grew rapidly as he found peace in focusing on something he could fully control.

That night, Sharon and Brian told the children they were heading for a holiday on the coast set to leave just after sundown.

Raven was the only one excited at the prospect, the boys all too aware of their impending separation.

“Don’t look so glum boys; we’ll have a nice time together. Remember to pack everything you think you’ll need. We may be gone for some time.” Brian attempted to smile but it fell short of convincing.

The boys went to pack their belongings as Sharon helped Raven do the same. Charles father sent a few last minute letters then lit a fire in the grate and burned several pages of documents.

That night they left for the coast, not knowing if they’d see their home or the city ever again.

~~

They were stopped at two checkpoints on their way to the coast, but they were let through without incident due to Brian’s diplomatic paperwork.

They arrived at a small seaside resort just after dawn and checked in as a family on holiday. When they arrived at their small cabin, the Lensherr’s were inside waiting for them. They embraced their son warmly, holding him tight for long moments and whispering endearments in German and Danish before moving to greet the Xavier’s.

Raven was elated to see Mrs. Lensherr again and refused to leave her side for the rest of the day. For a short while, everything felt blessedly normal, as though the war was a distant thing that could hurt them there. 

The next day’s flew past as they laughed in the sun and splashed in the surf. Erik basked in the light of his parents' love, the security of their time together unmarred by the tides of war. 

In the years to come, Charles would wish desperately that those days could have lasted forever. In many ways they were the last of his childhood, and he often despaired of ever seeing Erik or the Lensherr’s again.

The day came all too soon that the families gathered a picnic and headed out on the water in a small skiff piloted by one of the local men who rented his craft and skill to holiday makers. 

Erik’s parents and the luggage of both families had been hidden below deck at some ungodly hour of the night so to the soldiers at the marina, it just appeared that a family with three children were spending the day on the water.

They were able to leave the dock without being searched, something unheard of this far into the war when so many citizens were defecting to Switzerland, just across the water. Erik glanced at Charles who shot him a wink as the soldiers glanced away, disinterested in their departure. 

~They remember searching the boat and finding nothing.~

~You’re amazing, Charles.~ Erik smiled at the younger boys' flushed cheeks and bashful grin. 

They stood shoulder to shoulder at the rear of the skiff watching Denmark fade into the mist until they were unable to see it anymore. 

The journey was short, over faster than either of them could bear. 

“It’s time to go liebling; the Xavier’s must get to the embassy as quickly as possible.” Erik’s mother said gently as Jakob loaded the Xavier’s car with their few belongings. 

“Where are we going?”

“I can’t say, love. We must still be alert. There are eyes everywhere, even here.” Mrs. Lensherr said quietly, her voice nearly silenced by the gently lapping waves.

“Goodbye, Charles.” She pulled him into a tight hug and breathed him in. "Take care of yourself and your sister.” She smiled a watery smile and turned to console a distraught Raven.

Mr. Lensherr shook his hand firmly and tousled his hair playfully. ”You’re a good boy, Charles. Keep on with your studies, make me proud.” He said with a small laugh before clapping him on the shoulder and moving away to give the boys time for their own farewell.

Charles turned away from them, his eyes misting to see Erik willingly hugging Sharon for once as Brian slipped something into his hand with a kind smile. 

The adults moved to each other, Raven huddled in their midst, a quiet ball of misery.

The boys shared a look.

~You’re going to Brazil, my father helped arrange paperwork, you’ll be safe there~ Erik could feel his friends relief flood the connection. He was humbled by how terrified Charles had been for his safety.

~Where are you all going?~

~ America, New Mexico. My father has been recruited for a project to end the war.

~Let’s hope it works.~

~Yeah. It looks promising, at least in his mind.~

Then there was no time left with nothing and everything left to say.

“Goodbye Charles.”

“Not forever,” he whispered brokenly.

“Never forever,” they embraced tightly. “Remember, you’re not alone.”

“I never was,” he smiled through his tears. “Goodbye Erik.”

They clung to each other until the last moment. 

Then Charles was gazing out the back window of a huge black car, the clear blue of his eyes fading into the distance as Erik stood on the dock, watching until he couldn’t sense the car anymore and the soft presence of Charles in his mind was entirely gone. 

~~

Israel 1955

Charles hitched David higher up onto his hip. As they walked through the open air market in Tel Aviv, he only semi shielded their minds, father and son basking in the glow of active minds surrounding them as the chatter of many tongues rose in a cacophony of languages and customs that made up the new republic.

~Are you hungry, darling?~

~Yes, want that!~

David pointed at a stand across the busy street selling a variety of confections.

“Well, why not, we are on vacation.” Charles capitulated with a smile, moving to cross the street. 

Just as he was eyeing a particularly mouth watering item while holding a conversation with the vendor about sightseeing he felt a familiar tug on the edge of his mind.

From a distance he felt it again.

~Charles!?~

~Erik?!~

~Yes! Where are you?!~ Charles moved away from the vendor and extended his range, quickly mapping the city in his mind, desperate to see his friend again. David wriggled in his arms, reacting to his father’s excitement.

~Stay where you are, I’m coming to you!~

The point that was Erik began moving towards them rapidly as Charles paced in a tight circle, hunger forgotten at the prospect of reuniting with the man he had searched for in vain since the end of the war.

The spot of consciousness was overwhelming now, nearly as strong as when they shared a room as children.

David felt the presence as well and twisted about in Charles’ arms looking around nearly as frantically as his father.

Then he was there, rounding the corner and running towards them, eyes roving back and forth through the busy crowd. Tall, handsome and tan, he was entirely unrecognizable but for his changeable eyes and unmistakable mind.

“~Erik~” Charles called out in his mind and with his voice. Waving frantically with his free arm until he locked eyes with the other man and they pushed through the crowd to meet one another.

Then Charles was pulled into a desperate embrace that lifted him off his feet. David squealed in protest, but was soothed by his father.

“Charles, how are you here!” Erik gasped, still out of breath from shock and his mad dash across the city. ”Is this real?”

”Yes! Yes, this is real, how did you find me?!” Charles laughed, unable to remember the last time he had felt unadulterated joy.

“The necklace, my star! You kept it.” Erik grinned wide and carefree.

“Of course I did, Erik. You gave it to me.” Charles said softly leaning into the other mans embrace.

“And who is this handsome young man wearing it?” Erik stooped slightly to peer into David’s curious eyes. “Why Charles, he’s your spitting image!” 

“I know, lucky kid!” They shared a laugh as Charles introduced David to his Uncle Erik and the boy consented to be carried by the taller man, unabashedly enjoying his higher perch. A fact that Charles griped about in good nature as Erik led the way through the city.

“So he’s like you then?” 

“Yes, just manifested a few months ago, so early. I don’t know what to make of it.”Charles sensed Erik’s hesitation and emotional upheaval at the talk of his son.

“What is it my friend? We used to share such honesty with one another, do not hold back on my account.”

Erik dodged an oncoming pedestrian before speaking again. “Where is his mother, I take it she is Jewish?”

“Gabby was Jewish, yes.” Charles said looking away.

“Was?” Erik frowned at his use of the past tense.

“Yes, she went through the camps,” Erik winced as he and Charles shared a speaking glance. “I did what I could to help, but she wanted to remember. Then once David was born, it all became too much.”

“What do you mean?” Erik glanced worriedly at the little boy who clung to him so trustingly.

“Don’t worry; I’m shielding him from our conversation, and the memories.”

“What memories, Charles?” Erik had steered them to a small park near the city center where it was quiet and they could speak without straining to hear one another.

“The day David manifested is the day Gabby took her own life. I was nearly home, when I felt this wave of fear and confusion from him, I reached out for Gabby but there was nothing.”

“By the time I arrived, it was too late. She was still warm. She must have timed it so he wouldn’t be alone for long.”

Erik gazed down at his friend, knowing how deeply the telepath connected to people because of his mutation.

“It’s not your fault Charles.”

“I should have known-“

“I know you Charles; did she ask you for privacy?”

“…yes.”

“And you granted it to her. The choice was hers alone, Charles. Do not seek to carry her burden as well.”

“You always know what to say.” Charles gave a watery smile.

“What are friends for?” Erik asked earnestly, placing an arm around Charles shoulders and taking a moment to bask in the presence of this wonderful man and his son. 

They shared a smile and blinked tears out of their eyes even as David began to truly fuss for a meal.

They went to a small restaurant Erik frequented to continue catching up.

Erik watched as Charles easily switched between Yiddish and French as he spoke with the proprietor.

“When did you become so good with languages, professor?” he teased.

“I figured out how to access the language center of the mind, I can transfer the knowledge of a language from one person to another.”

“You are truly amazing my friend.”

“No more so than you! Sensing a necklace from across the city after more than a decade.” Erik flushed beneath his tan. 

“I’ve been training.”

“I’d love to hear more about it.” Erik happily obliged. Regaling the Xavier’s with tales of his travels and adventures. 

They updated one another about their families, and the changes the years had wrought.

“A shape shifter!? Raven?

“Yes! her skin got rough and scaly, and then one day she was blue!”

“When was this?”

“She had just turned eight! Our parents flipped out and she was miserable, that’s when I finally told them.” 

“What, that you’d been reading their minds for years?

“Pretty much, they were pretty freaked out, but they’re great about it now.” Charles smiled fondly at some distant memory of the past.

They talked for hours, eventually returning to Charles’ hotel to put David to bed as they continued their conversation over a bottle of sweet wine. 

“A geneticist?”

“Yes, I’m finishing my doctorate once I return from hiatus. I- we needed some time after Gabby.”

“Of course.”

“How about you?”

“I’m an engineer on large construction projects. I’m here to help build the nation.”

“Admirable, Erik, you’re a born leader.”

“Thank you Charles.” They clinked their glasses and settled back to talk the rest of the night away.

~~

The days spent in Israel fell into an easy routine where they spent time together each day and relearned their comfort with one another.

Erik found a new fan in David who loved his tricks, especially since he could make the tiny boy fly. 

His comfort with telepathy also made it easy for them to communicate since David was still mostly non verbal.

They went to visit Edie and Jakob who lived near the coast. They wept to see Charles again, and with a son! 

They doted on David and were pleased to be honorary grandparents since Gabby had no remaining relatives and Charles wanted him to have a strong sense of both sides of his roots.

Two weeks led to three and before they knew it a month was gone as though no time had passed at all.

Erik agreed to return to England with them, to help care for David while Charles returned to school, but also because they couldn’t bear to be parted once more.

“I’m surprised you agreed to come.” Charles said with a smile as he packed up their belongings to check out of the hotel. They were all heading back to spend a few more days with the Lensherr’s before leaving for England.”

“What will you do with your time?” he asked concerned that his well traveled friend would grow bored with domesticity and disappear from his life once more.

“What, you mean besides take care of my boy?” Erik asked dramatically, blowing a raspberry on David’s round belly causing the toddler to squeal with delight. 

“Yes, besides that. Charles asked,” rolling his eyes at their shenanigans even as his heart skipped a beat at the sight of his boys together.

“Well, I do have an ulterior motive in coming with you.”

“I see, and what’s that?” Charles asked, intrigued by his friends sudden serious demeanor.

“We need a homeland.”

“And now you have one.”

“Yes. Jews do.”

“Well, you are Jewish.” Charles remarked confused by the clear delineation in the other man’s mind. ”And Germany is still there if that’s what you mean.”

“That is most certainly not what I mean.” Erik grimaced at the mention of the land of his birth. “I’m here to learn how to build a nation, Charles. Our people need a homeland as well.”

“Our people?”

“Mutants, Charles. I live in terror of a second holocaust that humans will turn against the minority in their midst once more and this time there will be no escape.”

“You want to separate ourselves out?”

“Yes, to have a place to call our own!” 

“But Erik, our parents are human and they love us unconditionally! They cannot be the only ones!”

”Yes, Charles as you are not Jewish yet you love David.”

“Yes, exactly my point.”

“If there were another threat against Jews would you hesitate to move to Israel to present a united front?”

“No, of course not.” He frowned at the thought of David suffering what he had lived through Gabby.

“Same here, non Jews are welcome, but we are the clear majority. We have a voice in the world. There is strength in numbers, Charles. Look what they did to people who look different, speak another language, and worship differently than the majority. What will they do to David who can control minds?”

“But, Erik, over a few generations, we will all be mutants.”

“There is no guarantee of our numbers surviving that long. We need a voice, Charles. We need a presence to be safe.”

Charles frowned, deep in thought at the points Erik made. If mutants controlled their own fate, they would be in a better position than the Jews, Gypsies, and homosexuals had been in, having no country to call their own. 

Depending on other nations to allow them in, depending on foreign forces to win the war and free them from slavery and certain death.

His thought flickered back to his son twice damned in the eyes of many, a Jew and a mutant. Then he pictured a land where David could grow up free and unashamed. 

He shook his head ruefully. “You’re a revolutionary, Erik.”

“I hope so,” he grinned widely. “But I need you by my side, Charles having you again I don’t know how I managed so long without your presence in my mind.”

“I feel much the same my friend.” Came his soft reply. “I hope you know this project of yours will take years, decades, even.”

“I’m in no rush, Charles. We have the rest of our lives to sort it all out.”

“And by sort it all out you mean introduce the concept of mutants to humanity and ask them to grant us a homeland and a place at the UN?” 

“When you put it like that it doesn’t sound so hard.” They shared another laugh. 

“Give me 20 years Charles, and see the change we make in the world.” He grasped the smaller man’s hand and held it tightly, gazing intently into the eyes of the friend he thought lost forever.

“Erik…” Charles began softly, shifting to lean in closer. “I strive to give people privacy in their thoughts and emotions whenever I can.”

“I know, Charles.” Erik’s gaze flickered to those full, red lips then back up to eyes of pure cerulean.

“My friend you are projecting your true desires into my mind, let me do the same for you. When you ask me for 20 years, know that I’m offering you a lifetime, or as long as you’ll have me. In whatever capacity you’ll have me. I’m not going anywhere, ever again.”

“I’ll have you as you’ve always been, Charles. Mine.” Erik dipped his head to press a firm kiss onto those soft bitten lips. Groaning softly as Charles tilted his head and parted his lips to deepen it. 

They parted breathless with newfound love and the endless possibilities of the future. 

“A toast,” Charles murmured kissing the other man thoroughly once more.

“To finding one another,” Erik proffered.

“To our family,” they shared a smile and glanced at David, as he bounced happily on the bed, entirely ignoring them in his focus.

“To the future.”

“To our homeland.” 

“To us. Always and forever.”

**Author's Note:**

> Un beta'd so please tell me if you see any mistakes! Of course any and all comments are welcome and truly appreciated!!


End file.
